Day 17: Who do you think you are?

We are judgmental fools trying to differentiate ourselves from the rest of the flock. We label and stereotype one another with little consideration for the consequences. It starts of when we’re children. Our parents call us shy, naughty, boisterous, rude. These are just words but they become ingrained in our brain and we grow up to reflect these traits more than others. All my life my mother labelled me shy because I wasn’t outspoken and I didn’t feel I needed to be the centre of attention. That does not make a person shy. I was simply and introvert and choosing when I spoke or when I cried wolf. Shyness had nothing to do with it. I’m not shy. At 30, well almost 31, I know that now. I like attention, I like to talk, I like to have fun, travel, meet new people, but on my terms not on someone else’s. 

I can think of many labels I can give myself. Writer. Runner. Daughter. Partner. Friend. Client Maintenance Officer. Giver. Taker. Lover. Soon to be mother. Granddaughter. Swimmer. Triathlete. I probably could think up of many more but there’s no need The above shows that I am not one dimensional and I should not let just one dimension define me and my actions. 

That’s what I’ve been doing all my life. 

The ‘shy’ label has prevented me from achieving my dreams. I heard the term so many times that I started believing it and maybe even became it. Now, I fight to rip it off, because a ‘shy’ child may be cute, acceptable, lovable. A ‘shy’ adult is odd, obscure, and just doesn’t work. Not the in the world of social media, competition, and wanting to achieve your dreams. 

Now it comes down to taking the first step. Going out into the world and reaching our full potential. Only we are capable of doing that. No one is going to reach our full potential for us. Nor are they going to put in the effort to guide us if we first don’t take the first steps and reach out. 

I’ll always be an introvert. I love my ‘me’ time. The quiet of being with my own thoughts. Analysing the world, my life, and just being. I like my own company and that’s a good thing. I don’t need to take energy from others to feel good. I just need solo time be it at home on the couch, going for a walk in the park, lying under a tree at the beach, sitting at a coffee shop writing. Whatever. 

I’m a writer. I write. Whatever happens next is up to me. 

Who are you?